In many cases the materials you place out for collection as rubbish can be recycled or reused rather than being disposed of. Toys, crockery, clothing and electrical items can easily find a new home. Below is a list of some of the organisations that will take your unwanted materials and reuse or recycle them.

Yahoo Freecycle WebsiteYahoo Groups is a free website where people with similar interest can contact each other. The Yahoo Freecycle Group allows people from the Southern Suburbs of Sydney to give away for free items that they don’t need anymore so that they can be reused rather than thrown away. You can access this group through this link: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecycle_sydney_south/

Clothing BinsThere are clothing bins throughout the City of Rockdale including around many libraries and churches. These bins allow you to give clean unwanted clothing to charity.

Asbestos WastesFor information on disposing asbestos you can call the Department of Environment and Climate Change Pollution Line on 131 555 or email info@environment.nsw.gov.au or Council’s Waste Education Officer on 9562 1533

Waste & Disposal Websites

Safe Disposal of Household ChemicalsClean out your household's chemical clutter the right way with CleanOut - a FREE service for the safe disposal of a range of common household chemicals. Household chemicals can be taken to various temporary CleanOut drop-off centres throughout the year. For more information visit www.cleanout.com.au

Minimise Hazardous Household ChemicalsKeep your home healthy and green by reducing and minimising your family’s exposure to hazardous household chemicals. Visit www.safersolutions.org.au for safer alternatives for use in the home, in the garden and DIY renovation.

Old MedicinesReturn your old and unwanted medicines to any pharmacy for free and safe disposal. Visit www.returnmed.com.au or call 1300 650 835.

Mobile Phone RecyclingMobileMuster is the official recycling program of the mobile phone industry. Visit www.mobilemuster.com.au or call 1300 730 070.

Oil Recyclinghttp://www.oilrecycling.gov.au tells you how to correctly dispose of your used oil, uses for recycled oil and effects that used oil can have on the environment. Also features a directory to find your nearest used oil drop-off station, used oil collector and used oil recycler.

Other Useful WebsitesNot sure if it can be recycled? Visit www.recyclingnearyou.com.au and search for local recycling information either by Council area or product. Also has information about other recycling programs.